fall began at the cabin...

a couple weekends ago ceej and i packed up our bikes

and headed for a day, a night, and a morning up at the cabin.

when we arrived i had all intentions of being lazily productive

by starting a knitting project and/or making some real

progress on my first {i know!} read-through of wuthering heights.

but, my stomach had other plans for me and so i got through the pain

by sleeping away my afternoon on the couch.

i really had to talk myself into getting up, changing my clothes,

and getting on my bike alongside ceej so we could ride

along one of the most scenic roads in the country. 

i'm soooo glad i made it. 

riding a bike on a country road at sunset is magical.

this trip was my first sighting of changing leaves...

too bad i didn't have the zoom lens on my camera to capture it for you all,

and too bad we didn't do any hiking so i could get a closer look.

anyway, we didn't get as far as we had planned on the bikes,

but we had an enjoyable ride anyway.

we drove into the closest small town and had dinner at the diner,

just barely making it in the doors fifteen minutes before they closed.

the next morning we made ourselves some cinnamon french toast

with fresh raspberries and maple syrup...delish!

and then we were off for home again.

i love little weekend getaways like this.

we won't be going anywhere this weekend,

but we'll be making halloween decorations with family,

and attempting to make apple-cider doughnuts for the first time!

anything planned for your first weekend of october?

bundling up in pretty threads and colors...

loving these cool fall mornings and evenings when

i can put on an aran sweater or a plaid long-sleeve shirt...

even better is when i can add my boots.

i love looking at these tops all together...it looks like fall!

an end of summer wedding

over the weekend ceej and i went to a good friend's wedding.

it was one of those beautiful gatherings when we got to see friends

we haven't seen in weeks, months, and years, a gathering where there

were lots of big smiles and big hugs...and lots and lots of planning:

planning yurt trips, cabin trips, lord of the rings parties, picnics in the mountains,

and buying houses on the same street so we can all settle down together

for our kids to play together and most likely marry each other.

the wedding itself was simply perfect : a view of our valley and mountains,

party lights, beautiful flowers {yay ranunculus!}, cupcakes flown in from nyc,

a taco truck, and hand-squeezed limeaide...holy smokes that food was incredible!

and, and, and! the bride's elegant dress was made from a curtain purchased

at the local thrift store. a lovely night indeed.

someone's got to get married again so we can see everybody.

lovely packages from norway

i love how beautiful packages from dear friends always

arrive just when you need a little pick-me-up...

i ordered my latest necklace from my dear friend marte

a couple of weeks ago, and oh how i was so

thrilled to see these two beauties...

i've worn them everyday since.

and it's true : i only wear marte's necklaces...

they're just so elegantly earthy. love, love, love.

now i've just got to find a way to visit marte in norway...

lately...

.lunch at drive-ins in small farm towns.

.time for wearing handmade wooden clogs.

.savoring fresh raspberries & peaches.

.whole milk + good classic books.

.homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

.naps by mountain rivers.

.dinner at small town diners.

.french toast breakfasts at the cabin.

.waking up in the mountains.

.bike rides to the park.

.knitting + bright star.

.laundry.

it's monday, and we begin again.

checking in with the heart : how life has it all

how does quiet stir a heart so much? i give myself some down time,

and quickly i can't decide if life is incredibly wonderful, or if i am 

ready to cry because of that eternal constant sadness that gives life beauty.

i want to shout hallelujah's of joy because, yes, my life is full of joyful gifts:

i live by the mountains, in an honest desert, i have someone to share my life with,

i've traveled all around this world and experienced new geographies and cultures,

my afternoon breaks consist of listening to this and this, 

i get to teach music {life's true pulse} to little kids, i spend my summers with

great minds at beautiful campuses, we ride bikes along lovely country roads,

i get to play the piano and i'm learning how to play the violin,

i'm starting a band, like-minded women will be meeting at my home to

discuss women in ancient and sacred texts {texts of all kinds}, when i can't sleep

i knit and listen to therapeutic music, there are fresh raspberries in my fridge,

...so why this underlying sadness that seems to be built into my dna?

i don't think i'm asking to be rid of the sadness...it's this sadness that makes

me appreciate all the beauty around me--i couldn't see it without this heartache.

what is my heart aching over? i'm not quite sure. it's just there. 

and it is here this morning. i woke early this morning, despite my excitement last night

to finally be able to sleep in...turns out my heart had to talk to me this morning.

have you ever had a heart-to-heart with your heart?

still dark outside, i got myself a glass of milk,

plugged my headphones into the laptop so i could listen

to music without waking ceej. 

i bundled up in a down blanket, and gathered my knitting project to my lap.

all i can think about these days is sitting by a mountain lake,

or, even better, rowing a canoe in a mountain lake

in foggy weather, wearing a hand-knit sweater and my wellies,

reading john keats out loud...why does this thought simultaneously

bring me so much joy yet so much heartache? why such sadness

attached to such beautiful images?

i actually think keats has already answered this for me:

"ay, in the very temple of delight

veiled melancholy has her sovran shrine,

though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue

can burst joy's grape against his palate fine;

his soul shall taste the sadness of her might,

and be among her cloudy trophies hung."

this is my experience exactly...that in those very moments of joy

is melancholy...they truly are inseparable. this is why when i

have the most bliss-filled dreams and experiences i am also filled

with sorrow for all of the unfulfilled dreams and for all of the hurt

that i and my loved ones have ever been through. this is life.

all of it.

a quiet weekend : a new knitting project to begin

we'll be sticking close to home this weekend. it's nice not to worry about packing anything:

no stuffing sleeping bags into teeny-tiny bags, no figuring out if i'm packing my warm jacket

or my huge puffy coat, no driving in circles trying to find the trailhead...don't get me wrong,

i love all of our adventures, but i'm looking forward to a weekend at home.

lucky for us we can still spend time in the mountains since they're just in our back yard!

this weekend there will be a hike, starting a new knitting project {a sweater!}, 

going to the last farmer's market of the year,

working around the house and yard, and attending friends' wedding {yipee!}

what does your weekend look like?

autumn : hands-down the best time of year : what we did last autumn in california

it's so crazy to think that last year at this time we were still living in california.

i was always so anxious to escape the heat and find a bit of fall.

our weekend adventures were incredible : sierra mountains, apple orchards, redwood forests, yosemite, and the sea...i think being close to the sea is the thing i miss most.

now that we're in salt lake city fall is already upon us, and all i have to do is look out my window

to see the leaves changing in the mountains...this year's colors are going to be drop-dead bright

thanks to a very wet spring and a nice monsoon season.

i am loving that i get to put my sweater on every night, and my boots have

already come out of the closet a few times.

i am so ready for thick, chunky sweaters, leather boots, wellie boots, duck boots,

scarves, tweed blazers, tweed news-boy hats, knit hand-warmers, knit scarves,

the smell of cool air, homemade cider doughnuts, nutmeg, ginger, cloves,

am so giddy thinking of halloween and all the trick-o-treaters that will be coming to our door

all bundled up to escape the frosty elements,

am incredibly excited for that first dusting of snow...part of me wishes that a dusting

of snow is all that would come, but then i remember you can't ski on dust...

still, that first dusting of snow is eternally magical.

what are your favorites of fall?

{see last year's ode to autumn here}

this summer was a good one...

as many of you know, i usually dread summer and spend

my days counting down to the fall equinox.

fall is still my fave (yay! it's here!), but this summer was

probably the best yet...

it may have to do with the cooler spring we had,

a couple months spent in rainy england (so grateful for all that rain!),

and many weekends spent at higher elevations in the mountains.

this was truly a summer to remember.

tomorrow, an ode to autumn!